Wednesday, July 8, 2015

O’Dark Thirty is Later in the Day

Year after year we send our ILCers east and the tradition is to meet in Front of El Cerrito HS to wait for the airport shuttle. In order to arrive at their destinations at a reasonable hour the cohorts have to catch one of the first planes leaving San Francisco or Oakland airports. With the lengthy check-in lines and then the security screenings, this means that they need to arrive at the airport at 5 AM or earlier. This requires that they gather at ECHS somewhere around 3:20 AM--as was the case this morning.

We’ve double checked and none of our ILCers live on farms where they’re used to rising this early to milk the chickens and feed the cows so rising from a perfectly good bed at this hour is simply unnatural and their bodies often reject the notion.

Nonetheless, they arrive with their parents in tow with smiles on their faces as they prepare to head east for the adventure of a lifetime.

This morning the Vanderbilt cohort--comprised of Arnold Dimas from Richmond HS, Katherine Phan from Pinole Valley HS, and Hummd Alikhan and Gwennie Gilbert-Snyder from El Cerrito HS--met with their chaperone Jenny Gilbert to have their luggage weighed, receive last minute instructions and load up on red and grape vines for emergency sustenance.

And, of course, the group photos that are a staple of every ILC event.

The Vanderbilt cohort heads first for Houston where they will check out Rice University. They then head to Atlanta to visit Emory University before boarding a greyhound bus to take them to Nashville where they will study for the next three weeks.

They valiantly stood in the chilly morning air when all of a sudden their airport shuttle arrives. This wasn’t some old van or bus. Today it was a gleaming stretch limo that seemed to be as long as a city block. Nothing’s too good for this cohort and arriving at the Oakland airport in style should seem par for the course.

About Us

The goal of The Ivy League Connection is to expand the college going culture in the West Contra Costa Unified School District by providing the students of the WCCUSD with the opportunity to participate in summer enrichment programs hosted by highly selective universities.

This effort emphasizes students’ readiness and highlights that teachers have and will continue to produce outstanding students ready to participate in the rigorous programs offered each summer by the Ivy League.

Upon their return from these programs, our students are encouraged to become campus leaders and promote increased awareness of academic opportunities. By becoming campus leaders, they will also instill the value of giving service and encourage the local community to become stronger partners with our schools.

The Ivy League Connection is all about giving back.

The WCCUSD is a diverse, urban school district which has managed to survive through incredible financial adversity (including bankruptcy) for the past two decades. Despite a myriad of obstacles, students have persevered and been resilient in staying focused and not making excuses relating to student achievement. Nonetheless, a great majority of students have not had exposure to the thousands of colleges that exist. The Ivy League Connection is a metaphor for establishing that connection and opening gateways to ensure that more students are conscious about becoming part of a college-going culture.

This endeavor creates an institution with an innovative approach and provides a model for school board members to utilize regarding how to deploy District resources to underwrite student participation in summer enrichment and leadership programs on college campuses. The goal is to significantly boost scholarship in our District by introducing the concept and awareness that outstanding students of talent and high potential will benefit from participating in stimulating summer enrichment programs and that others will also profit when they share their experiences with them upon their return.